This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Pedestrians pay price for Leaside water main work: Fixer

Sidewalks are blocked off, which forces pedestrians and wheelchairs users into the road, with no protection from traffic.

Pedestrians are forced to walk on the road at the corner of Donlea Dr. and Rumsey Rd., due to water main replacement work that is blocking sidewalks and disrupting the neighbourhood. (JACK LAKEY / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

Making room for construction is a fact of life in Toronto, but there’s a limit to the public’s accommodation.

And the line is drawn in Leaside, where water main work is testing the patience of residents who are always forced to navigate around the detritus of the project.

It’s a well-known fact that parts of the city’s water infrastructure is upwards of 100 years old — remember the record number of water mains that burst in frigid February? — and long overdue for replacement.

Toronto Water is engaged in ongoing water main upgrades that will continue for many years, along with all the disruption that accompanies digging into roads to get at the pipes.

The area north of Eglinton Ave. E. and west of Brentcliffe Rd. is one of the neighbourhoods that is torn up by water main construction, but it is wearing thin with residents.

Article Continued Below

Andrea Cookson emailed to say “there has been quite a sidewalk mess at the corner of Rumsey Rd. and Donlea Dr. for quite a long time now.

“Pedestrians must walk out into the street to avoid the patched asphalt and pylons. It is particularly difficult for people in wheelchairs who are making their way to the rehabilitation centre at the north end of Rumsey.

“This is a very busy place with a lot of traffic, especially with the Eglinton Crosstown (LRT) construction diverting cars and traffic onto residential streets.”

We found traffic barriers, construction signs and pylons strewn around the southwest corner of Rumsey and Donlea, where the sidewalk has been dug up and temporarily filled with gravel.

There’s no room for pedestrians walking on the west side of Rumsey, unless they detour into traffic to get around the junk, and nothing to separate them from moving vehicles.

It’s not much better on the northwest corner, where the sidewalk was also dug up and replaced, while traffic on Donlea must veer around piles of gravel and other stuff at several spots.

STATUS: We’ve asked Toronto Water if it can send someone to take a close look at the corner of Rumsey and Donlea, and order its contractors to make it safer for pedestrians, and also to reduce the traffic impediments.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com